NYC Ultra Moist Lipwear in Retro Red

Again, why spend a lot of money on high-end lipstick when there are far more affordable alternatives everywhere? Red lipstick, especially–I mean, how often will you really wear red? Presenting NYC Ultra Moist Lipwear in Retro Red, very affordable at $0.99 without sacrificing product quality. Packaging’s cheap, though, but that doesn’t really matter to me.

Quite a number of people claim this is a dupe for MAC Russian Red. I don’t have Russian Red, so you be the judge. This is warmer and a tad louder than Russian Red though, based on comparison photos. They say this is a true red, but that’s not the case; it has a slightly orange undertone that shows up more in photos. This is how it looks on my arm:

And this is how it looks on my lips:

See? The orange undertone is more noticeable here. In person, though, it simply looks red. A loud, “hey, look at ME!!!” red. Perfect. Red is not for the subtle, after all.

I think this would suit women with warm undertones better, but it would look good on a wide variety of skin tones. This color makes my teeth look whiter, surprisingly, and it makes my skin look slightly paler.

The lipstick is opaque and creamy. I can apply it without anything but lip balm, but it would be best to line your lips or prep them with concealer beforehand. The creamy texture makes this more prone to bleeding.

Besides the crappy packaging, what I don’t like is the fruity scent/taste. It’s not overpowering, but it influences the taste of whatever you put in your mouth, and that makes it unpleasant.

One way to get the most use out of this is to use it as a stain. After all, full-on Retro Red is not really appropriate for daytime. To use it as a stain, just apply it, blot, and blend. For more subtle color, just dab the lipstick on and blend the color with your fingers. This is best done with a coat of lip balm underneath to facilitate blending.

You could also use this as a cream blush! It gives my cheeks a lovely, from-within color. Swipe once or twice on the back of a clean hand and blend onto cheeks little by little.

Imagine that: for a measly $0.99, you get a loud lipstick, a stain, and a cream blush. I highly recommend this. In fact, if only I were living in the US, I’d get every color. $0.99?! What a great deal!